Thursday, October 21, 2010

The Pig Pen Ambassador and other errors

The U.S. has made progress in Iraq after a shaky start, he said."When you invade a country, you shouldn't do it only because you want to get rid of a dictator. We didn't ask all the right questions. If we had asked why (Saddam Hussein) was there, we might have understood the need for a stronger role after the invasion."

Chris Hill is an idiot who undermined whatever simple, tiny steps the US had made in Iraq. He's an idiot for claiming "progress" (it was under Hill's watch that elections were repeatedly delayed and under his watch that the stalemate begins) and he's an idiot to advocate still for an illegal war (his caveat is that if a dictator's role had been better grasped, the US would have planned for a longer occupation). Chris Hill is pure trash. All he did in Baghdad was freak out and nap. Whatever tentative steps the US had made all vanished when the manic-depressive couldn't get his act together. There's a reason Odierno had to cut Hill out of the process. When that story's told it will not look pretty for Hill or for the university that hired him.

The moron's confirmation hearing will live in infamy among Iraq scholars as he repeatedly demonstrated no grasp of the country -- especially with regards to Kirkuk. He never did get the issue. October 5th, he was babbling away on NPR's Talk of the Nation:

Well, that's right. And I think one of the things that the Kurds want to see is - as they enter the government - they want to see some movement on these negotiations, the so-called DIBs process, the Disputed Internal Boundary. And the city, of course, you're referring to is Kirkuk. Frankly, if you go to Kirkuk, you sort of - you know, it's okay, but you sort of wonder what all the fuss is about. But then when you start talking people, you see that it is indeed a very emotional issue. Now the U.N. is in charge of a process there of trying to bring the Kurds together with the Arabs, but it's been a - it's been tough going. And the hope is that when there is a government, there will be a kind of deal to, kind of, move ahead. I would not look, however, for any quick resolution of this internal dispute, internal boundary. I think what does one could look for is sort of revamped process where everyone calms down and where they, at least, get the economics of that area moving. For example, Kirkuk has oil, and it would be nice if they could reach some sort of political modus operandi such that there will be some investment in there, and things will move forward.

*Frankly, if you go to Kirkuk, you sort of - you know, it's okay, but you sort of wonder what all the fuss is about.

Yeah, he's been publicly wondering that since his confirmation hearing. The realities always eluded him.

*But then when you start talking people, you see that it is indeed a very emotional issue.

Again, moron.

*Now the U.N. is in charge of a process there of trying to bring the Kurds together with the Arabs, but it's been a - it's been tough going. And the hope is that when there is a government, there will be a kind of deal to, kind of, move ahead.

If you go to a country on behalf of the US government, you are required what the US government has been doing. Meaning, the White House proposed a series of benchmarks at the end of 2006, Nouri and the Congress signed off on them. They included resolving the Kirkuk issue.

You're also required to know that country's basic issues. So when a country's Constitution mandates that a census in Kirkuk will take place by 2007 and that a referendum will be held on the issue, you're required to know that as well. To Chris Hill it's all so amazing the way things happen because he never knows from yesterday. He has neither perspective nor a knowledge base to draw upon. He was a complete failure in Iraq.

Staying with the United Nation, in Geneva today, UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming addressed the issue of Iraqi returnees, "A poll of Iraqis who have returned to Baghdad from neighbouring countries found that physical insecurity, economic hardship and a lack of basic public services has led the majority to regret their decision to return to Iraq. The survey also found that 34 percent said they were uncertain whether they would stay permanently in Iraq and would consider seeking asylum in neighbouring countries once again if conditions do not improve." Fleming noted that the bulk of the returnees were unable to live in their own homes (presumably they were occupied by squatter and those who ran them off to begin with) and the bulk of those who returned did so due to economic conditions (the savings they'd been living on were gone). The University of Chicago's Will Taylor reports for Global Post on Iraqi refugees Mohammad and Marwa and their daughter Noor who have arrived in the US after fleeing Iraq for Syria. Mohammad is a journalist who covered politics and government in Iraq until "local hostilities and militia" forced them to leave the country. Mohammad explains, "I wrote about a high officer in Iraq. He is official officer and besides that he has a militia." As a result, the Mahdi militia visited Mohammad's home and "kidnapped Mohammed and his mother." Though they eventually released him, the whereabouts and status of his mother remain unknown.

Despite that and despite the UN repeatedly stressing that it is not safe for returns, Dutch News reports the Dutch government announced they will continue to forcibly deport Iraqi refugees. It's hard to figure out which is worse: the Dutch government's actions (and other European nations) or the fact that worldwide condemnation has not been heaped on them for these forcible returns. On the issue of refugees, Chibli Mallat (Daily Star) reports:

I received last week a news documentary made by an Australian television network from Dr. Isam Khafaji. Khafaji is an old Iraqi friend who fought against Saddam Hussein’s regime because of its appalling human-rights record, and keeps the fight on for the continuing miseries affecting Iraq. The documentary focuses on the Iraqi women who have found refuge in Syria and who became part of a prostitution ring set up with the usual villains: families who don’t care and who eke out pennies for survival by selling their women folk’s bodies, mafia-like rings of proxenetism, and governmental graft at various levels. The story is repeated, with variations, in Lebanon, Iran, Jordan, inside Iraq, and to some extent, Iran. It is an ugly story.In a sea of violence, only sporadic attention has been devoted to that ongoing tragedy, which was particularly highlighted by courageous investigators in UNHCR. Only through working on a report for ESCWA on violence against women and available international legal instruments to combat it, did I know about this significant ring of misery affecting young Iraqi women in the countries of refuge.Little is done in practice to remedy an intolerable situation. The exception is a new venture which has mobilized around Rebecca Heller and her colleagues at Yale law school as described in this page. IRAP’s main focus has been US responsibility toward Iraqi refugees, in particular the weaker link constituted by girls and women living in sexual slavery in host countries. Taking up individual cases, IRAP is trying to secure the attention, sympathy and network of US immigration and related authorities to provide relief.

LONDON—When women have access to the same rights and opportunities as men, they are more resilient to conflict and disaster and can lead reconstruction and renewal efforts in their societies, according to the State of World Population 2010, published today by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

The report’s release coincides with the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council’s landmark resolution 1325, which aimed to put a stop to sexual violence against women and girls in armed conflict and to encourage greater participation by women in peacebuilding initiatives.

“When women and girls suffer deep discrimination, they are more vulnerable to the worst effects of disaster or war, including rape, and less likely to contribute to peacebuilding, which threatens long-term recovery,” said UNFPA’s Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid at the launch of the report.

Through the stories of individuals affected by conflict or catastrophe in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haiti, Iraq, Jordan, Liberia, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Timor-Leste and Uganda, the report shows how communities and civil society are healing old wounds and moving forward. However, more still needs to be done to ensure that women have access to services and have a voice in peace deals or reconstruction plans.

Security Council resolutions guide the international community’s response to conflict and establish the framework for actions to protect women and assure their participation in peacebuilding and reconciliation, “but they are not a substitute for grass-roots efforts to empower women and to build long-term resilience to crises of any sort,” Ms. Obaid wrote in the foreword to the report.

“Governments need to seize opportunities arising out of post-conflict recovery or emerging from natural disasters to increase the chances that countries are not just rebuilt, but built back better and renewed, with women and men on equal footing, with rights and opportunities for all and a foundation for development and security in the long run,” the report argues.

While conflict and disaster can worsen inequalities between men and women, Ms. Obaid said, “recovery from conflict and disaster also presents a unique opportunity—an opportunity to rectify inequalities, ensure equal protection under the law, and create space for positive change.”

Nouri al-Maliki's on his never-ending campaign tour. John Leland (New York Times) observes, "On Wednesday, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki took his shuttle campaign to Egypt, a predominantly Sunni state that has had warmer relations with Mr. Maliki’s main political rival, Ayad Allawi. Mr. Allawi’s multisectarian bloc, which includes most of Iraq’s Sunnis, won the most seats in the national elections in March, ahead of Mr. Maliki’s bloc, which is overwhelmingly Shiite." Al Arabiya reports, "Al-Maliki, who is Shiite, is trying to remain in power in Iraq in face of strong opposition from a rival Sunni-backed bloc, which Egypt and other Sunni Arab states have supported."

March 7th, Iraq concluded Parliamentary elections. The Guardian's editorial board noted in August, "These elections were hailed prematurely by Mr Obama as a success, but everything that has happened since has surely doused that optimism in a cold shower of reality." 163 seats are needed to form the executive government (prime minister and council of ministers). When no single slate wins 163 seats (or possibly higher -- 163 is the number today but the Parliament added seats this election and, in four more years, they may add more which could increase the number of seats needed to form the executive government), power-sharing coalitions must be formed with other slates, parties and/or individual candidates. (Eight Parliament seats were awarded, for example, to minority candidates who represent various religious minorities in Iraq.) Ayad Allawi is the head of Iraqiya which won 91 seats in the Parliament making it the biggest seat holder. Second place went to State Of Law which Nouri al-Maliki, the current prime minister, heads. They won 89 seats. Nouri made a big show of lodging complaints and issuing allegations to distract and delay the certification of the initial results while he formed a power-sharing coalition with third place winner Iraqi National Alliance -- this coalition still does not give them 163 seats. They are claiming they have the right to form the government. In 2005, Iraq took four months and seven days to pick a prime minister. It's seven months and fourteen days and counting.

Since President Obama took office, Democrats successfully passed a total of $509 billion in tax cuts for American families and small businesses. Due to these Democratic efforts, the tax burden on Americans is now at its lowest level in 60 years. [USA Today, 5/12/10; CBPP, 4/14/10] The following list identifies the major tax cuts enacted by Democrats during the 111th Congress, despite the obstructionism and opposition of Republicans.

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